News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal Elections 2021

  • 15,000 incidents of West Bengal post-poll violence: Report

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: There were 15,000 incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal in which 25 people were killed and 7,000 women were molested, according to a fact-finding report of the civil society group Call for Justice headed by former Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Justice (Retd) Permod Kohli.

    The report on post-poll violence was submitted on Tuesday to the Centre, which assured that it would take action in the matter. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy referred to the report and said the magnitude and reach of the post-poll violence touched many villages and towns all across West Bengal simultaneously beginning the night of May 2 when the results of the assembly elections were declared.

    “This is a clear indication that most of the incidents are not sporadic but premeditated, organised and conspiratorial,” the report stated. The five-member team included two retired IAS and one IPS officers.The civil society group said the report was prepared after the five-member team visited Bengal and met a cross-section of people there. Reddy said that the Home Ministry will study the report and will try to implement its recommendations. Citing the report, the junior home minister said 16 districts of the state were affected by the post-poll violence. 

    “The report said due to the post-poll violence, many people have left their homes in West Bengal and had taken shelter in Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha,” he said. According to the report, some of the hardened criminals, mafia dons and criminal gangs who were already in police records allegedly “led and carried the deadly attacks unhindered, (which) reveals that there is clear political patronage even before the elections and same being used to silence the political rivals”.

    The houses of some people were completely burned and destroyed and they were not even allowed to work, the report stated. The connecting bridge to a village that voted for a particular party was demolished. Their water connection has been snatched, claimed the report. The report claimed the incidents of targeted destruction and vandalisation of properties, residential and commercial, have the sole purpose to deprive people of their livelihood and choke them economically. 

    Report should be placed before SC, says team

    The team suggested that the report should be placed before the SC which may consider forming a SIT promptly for a fair probe. The Centre should initiate disciplinary proceedings on delinquent officers who failed to discharge their duties, the team suggested.

  • Post-poll violence in Bengal: Pleas in SC seek SIT probe in alleged rape cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A 60-year-old woman and a minor girl, who have alleged that they have been gang raped by TMC supporters or workers during post-poll violence in West Bengal, have moved the Supreme Court seeking probe by an SIT in these cases.

    Two separate applications have been filed by the woman and a 17-year-old girl seeking impleadment in the pending petition related to alleged killing of two BJP workers in poll-related violence in the state.

    On May 18, the apex court had issued notices to the Centre, West Bengal government and others seeking their responses on a petition filed by Biswajit Sarkar, whose elder brother was killed, and co-petitioner Swaranalata Adhikari, whose husband was killed in poll-related violence.

    The application filed by the 60-year-old woman alleged that she was gang raped in front of her six-year-old grandson by supporters or workers of the state’s “ruling political party” on the intervening night of May 4-5.

    It alleged that case was registered by the police but it has named only one of the five accused in the FIR.

    The plea claimed that a day after the declaration of assembly poll result, the applicant’s house was surrounded by a mob allegedly comprising of supports of Trinamool Congress party and threats were hurled asking her family to leave the house or face the consequences.

    Alleging that conduct of the state police is “unsatisfactory and non-cooperative”, the application has said that the case be transferred to a SIT or an independent agency.

    It had also said that trial of the case be transferred out of West Bengal.

    Another application, filed in the top court by the minor girl belonging to a Scheduled Caste community, has alleged that she was gang raped on May 9 by the members or supporters of the ruling political party.

    It said that an FIR was lodged in the matter on May 10.

    She has sought transfer of probe of the case to a SIT or the CBI and shifting of trial out of West Bengal.

    On May 25, the West Bengal government had informed the apex court that three people were arrested in connection with the alleged killing of two BJP workers in poll-related violence on May 2 in the state.

    The top court was hearing a plea filed by the victims’ kin seeking court monitored probe and transfer of cases to the CBI or SIT.

    The plea has also sought direction to monitor the investigation, trial and the progress of criminal cases emanating from the incident and attacks occurring in the aftermath of the assembly elections in the state of West Bengal.

    Mamata Banerjee led All India Trinamool Congress had won 213 seats out of 292 seats in West Bengal assembly elections in the hotly contested polls while BJP won 77 seats.

    Several violent incidents were reported after supporters of Trinamool Congress and BJP allegedly clashed in various parts of the state since May 2, killing at least 16 people and triggering alleged exodus.

  • Prolonged poll campaign, new strain led to 48-fold jump in COVID cases in rural Bengal, say experts

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Since the announcement of elections, nearly three months ago till Saturday, West Bengal’s riverine, largely rural hinterland has seen a 48-fold jump in active COVID-19 cases, with medical experts attributing it to the unprotected poll rallies.

    Most medical professionals blame the mass gatherings at election rallies for the huge surge in the disease.

    On February 26, when the Election Commission announced the poll dates, West Bengal’s number of active Covid cases was just 3,343, while it stood at 1.32 lakh on Saturday, a near 40-fold increase.

    However, the spread in districts, other than Kolkata, is far more.

    From a mere 2,183 active cases on February 26, the number of active cases on May 15 has risen to 1.06 lakh, a worrying 48-fold increase.

    “There is no doubt that the reason behind this surge of Covid in rural Bengal is the prolonged election process. The reason is nothing but political and only political,” Dr Amitava Nandi, a senior expert in tropical diseases and formerly of the School of Tropical Medicine (STM), told PTI.

    Elections were held from March 27 till April 29, in an unprecedented eight phases, prolonging the campaign period.

    Many of the districts which saw pitched political battles with leaders extensively touring them such as Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim and Purba Medinipur, Nadia, Darjeeling and Murshidabad reported near 100-fold rise in cases during the period.

    Dr Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, community medicine specialist and vaccination supervisor of the Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General (ID&BG) Hospital blamed the unscientific” holding of elections in eight phases and movement of people including paramilitary forces across state and district boundaries for the surge.

    “If you cannot allow people who had gone to other states to work as migrant labourers to return home here without RT-PCR tests, how have you allowed large numbers of central forces and other people to travel remote areas without any such tests? This has definitely helped in the surge of cases,” he said.

    According to Dr Nandi, the new Bengal strain (B.1.618), the second mutant strain discovered in India, started spreading across the state because of movement of people during the elections.

    “The administration was never prepared for this despite our warnings. Both the central and the state government were complacent as if they had won the battle against corona. They reduced the number of beds in the hospitals, never thought of increasing testing facilities. Then they allowed people to move, migrate without proper tests and flout the safety protocols,” said Dr Hiralal Konar of the Joint Platform of Doctors.

    On Saturday, Howrah reported 1,276 new cases, South 24 Parganas (1,257), Hooghly (1,193), Nadia (1,038), Purba Medinipur (753), Paschim Bardhaman (977) and Darjeeling (662), according to the state health department’s statistics.

    The total number of cases, including recoveries, in West Bengals districts other than Kolkata, also went up from 4.45 lakh on February 26 to nearly 8.64 lakh as of Saturday, May 15.

    The figures may be the tip of the iceberg, given the fact that people in rural areas have limited access to testing facilities.

    North 24 Parganas, wedged between Kolkata and the international border with Bangladesh, has just three government RT-PCR testing centres, whereas it has 26,047 active cases as on Saturday, marginally fewer than the tally for the capital of West Bengal.

    “Definitely there has been under-reporting. Primarily, people are not taking the tests and also there are not adequate tests taking place. And the current RT-PCR tests are sometimes unable to detect the contagion because the virus has genetically mutated,” Dr Nandi said.

    West Bengal at the moment has 115 testing laboratories in different parts of the state with a daily average of around 33,000 tests held daily, as per the state health bulletin.

  • West Bengal violence: NCW says women receiving rape threats, want daughters to leave state

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: An NCW team visiting West Bengal to take stock of the post-poll violence has found that many women are receiving rape threats and want their daughters to leave the state as police are not taking effective steps for their protection, chairman of the women’s rights body Rekha Sharma said on Friday.

    Victims are unable to voice their complaints due to the fear of backlash, she said in a statement.

    After the third straight convincing victory for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in the assembly election, West Bengal has witnessed a number of violent incidents since Sunday, when the results were announced.

    Taking suo moto cognisance of videos purportedly showing women being beaten up in West Bengal’s Nandigram assembly constituency, the National Commission for Women had on Tuesday announced that it will send a team to the state for further inquiry into the matter.

    “The team received information about many stranded victims, who left their homes because of violence, are currently forced to stay in a shelter home. The team was informed by the victims that they were physically assaulted and their homes were vandalised and set ablaze by TMC goons,” the NCW statement said.

    “The complainants told the team that they have been receiving rape and threat calls every day. The women also said that they are not being provided any protection by the police or state authorities. The women said that they have left the elderly in their homes and are worried about their safety,” it said.

    The shelter homes that these people are staying in have no facilities.

    The victims complained that they are not being provided with any medical facilities, healthy food or even clean drinking water, it added.

    The NCW team headed by Sharma talked to many women who said they were worried about the safety of their daughters and wanted them to leave the state for their safety, according to the statement.

    After talking to several victims, the NCW found that West Bengal police officials are not taking effective steps to provide security to women, the statement said.

    “Victims are unable to speak about their complaints due to the fear of backlash. Accountability of police and state authorities need to be fixed.”

    There is also a need for sensitisation and training of police officials for better handling of cases related to women and the number of women police officers in the force must be increased.

    “There is no effective rehabilitation scheme for women in distress and women are unaware of the welfare schemes launched for them by the central government. There is a need for conducting awareness programmes about schemes of central government at the district level,” it stated.

    The NCW alleged that it was supposed to meet many more victims of the post-poll violence but the state government officials refused to facilitate the meetings citing restrictions on movement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The team members also met Governor Jagdeep Dhankar who advised them to seek detailed information from district magistrates and police officials regarding the number of FIRs filed in connection with the violence and their status thereof.

    He also suggested that police officials should be directed to appear before the NCW with the reports, the statement said.

    At least six people had been killed in the post-poll violence in different parts of West Bengal till Tuesday.

    The BJP has alleged that TMC-backed goons have killed a number of its workers, attacked its women members, vandalised houses, looted shops of its members and ransacked its offices.

    The TMC has claimed that three of its supporters have been killed in violent incidents.

    Members of other parties, including the Left and the Congress, have also attacked the TMC for the violence, which they said has been aimed at their members and sympathisers as well.

    The TMC has denied the charges.

  • Violence taking place in those areas where BJP won in elections, claims CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that violence and clashes were taking place in those areas where the BJP won the elections.

    Speaking to reporters at state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee said that most of the videos of violence being shared on social media were either fake or old.

    “I have noticed that violence and clashes are taking place in those areas where the BJP have won the elections. These places can be seen as black spots,” she said.

    The chief minister said that when these incidents happened, the law and order was under the Election Commission.

    “The law and order in West Bengal deteriorated in the last three months. There were some sporadic incidents and not all were real, most were fake. BJP is showing old videos,” she claimed.

    ALSO READ | Nadda vows to ‘save’ people of Bengal from chain of political violence

    “I will appeal to all political parties to stop this. You have been torturing people since the elections and now, stop this. Or else, law will take its course. Bengal is a land of peace, heritage and here we stay in peace with people from every section of the society,” she added. 

    Hours after taking oath as the chief minister, Banerjee held a top-level meeting with senior officials of the state government, including Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and Home Secretary HK Dwidevi on the present law and order situation.

    She said that all the district magistrates and SPs were asked to strictly deal with any emerging situation.

    “If someone is found involved in any incident, we will deal with it very strictly. We are not going to tolerate any lawlessness here,” Banerjee said.

    The state government also reinstated Virender, who is about to retire at the end of this month, as the Director- General of Police and Jawed Shamim as the ADG (Law and Order), the chief minister said.

    Both the officers were removed from their respective posts by the Election Commission ahead of the polls.

    While the EC removed Virendra, stating that he should not be given any post which directly or indirectly relates to the conduct of polls, Shamim was made DG (Fire Services) with the additional charge of DG (Civil Defence).

    Nirajnayan, who was made the DGP, has been transferred as DG (Fire Services), she said.

    ADG (Law and order) Jag Mohan has been made Director of Civil Defence.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • NHRC orders spot inquiry after reports of post-poll violence in West Bengal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) ordered a spot inquiry following reports of post-poll violence from several districts in West Bengal.

    The state was in the throes of widespread violence on Monday that allegedly left several BJP workers dead and injured in clashes, and shops being looted, prompting the Centre to seek a factual report from the government on incidents of attack on opposition workers.

    Officials said four people were also killed in alleged clashes between TMC and BJP supporters in Burdwan district on Sunday and Monday.

    The TMC claimed three of them were its supporters.

    ALSO READ | Bengal violence: NCW asks DGP to probe incidents of attack on women; Mamata holds emergency meeting

    The NHRC said it has come across several media reports published in newspapers on Tuesday regarding the death of some people in the alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal on Monday.

    Political workers allegedly clashed with each other, party offices were torched down and some homes were ransacked and valuables also looted, the body said.

    District administration and local law and order enforcement agencies appear not to have acted to stop such violation of human rights of the affected persons, it noted.

    “Considering as a fit case of alleged violation of Right to Life of the innocent citizens, the commission has today taken suo-motu cognizance of the matter and has requested its DIG (Investigation) to constitute a team of officers of the Investigation Division of the commission to conduct an on-the-spot fact-finding investigation and to submit a report at the earliest, preferably within two weeks,” it said in a statement.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • BJP announces nationwide dharna on May 5 against ‘violence by TMC workers’; JP Nadda to visit Bengal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP president JP Nadda will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal starting from Tuesday to hold a protest against the alleged atrocities on party workers in the state by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.

    He will meet the BJP workers and their families affected by the violence and will hold protests in a democratic manner.

    “BJP president JP Nadda will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal starting from Tuesday, May 4 to take stock of the violence under the patronage of the TMC,” BJP said in a release.

    “Within 24 hours of election results, many BJP workers have been murdered. Many workers are seriously injured. The house and shops of many party workers have also been burnt. After Mamata Banerjee’s defeat and Trinamool Congress’ victory in the election results yesterday, the TMC hooligans started celebrating the victory with violence and blood. BJP condemns this,” it added.

    ALSO READ | Three TMC workers, one BJP supporter killed in post-poll clashes in Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman

    The BJP sources said the party will also hold a nationwide dharna on May 5 against the widespread violence unleashed by TMC workers post declaration of the West Bengal Assembly Elections results. The protest will be held following all COVID protocols across all organisational mandals of the BJP.

    Meanwhile, BJP office and some shops in Ghoshpara road of Bhatpara were allegedly vandalised by miscreants and at least 13 crude bombs were hurled in the area on Monday.

    The shopkeepers alleged that TMC was behind the attack as the area is known to be of BJP supporters.

    However, local TMC leader denied the allegations and said BJP’s insiders were behind the incident.

    BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that BJP offices were vanadalised in Howrah.

    ALSO WATCH:

    “TMC goons and workers have vandalised BJP offices in Howrah. The goods have been stolen from there. BJP workers are being beaten into their homes,” tweeted Kailash Vijayvargiya in Hindi.

    “After Mamata ji’s victory, her workers are celebrating and vandalising the houses of BJP workers. More than nine BJP workers have been killed so far,” he said.

    Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress won 213 seats in the just concluded West Bengal assembly elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state assembly. However, elections for two seats in Murshidabad are postponed due to the demise of candidates due to COVID. 

  • MHA asks West Bengal government to send report on post-poll political violence in state

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday sought a report from the West Bengal government on post-poll violence targeting opposition workers in the state.

    Political workers, including from BJP, were allegedly targeted by opponents since the announcement of results for the 292-member West Bengal assembly where the ruling Trinamool Congress emerged victorious.

    “MHA has asked West Bengal Government for a report on the post-election violence targeting opposition political workers in the state,” a spokesperson tweeted.

    The BJP has alleged that one of its party offices in Hooghly district was set on fire, and some of its leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, were heckled by TMC activists in other parts of the state.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged her supporters to maintain peace and asked them not to fall prey to provocations.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Arrogance, might, money power lost in West Bengal: Congress leader Kapil Sibal

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Following Trinamool Congress’ thumping win in assembly elections in West Bengal, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Monday said “arrogance, might, money power and using Jai Shri Ram for politics” lost the polls in the state.

    Sibal also hailed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is all set to continue her third term in West Bengal.

    “In West Bengal, who lost – arrogance, might, money power, using Jai Shri Ram for politics, a divisive agenda and the Election Commission. She (Mamata Benerjee) stood up to them and won,” the Congress leader said in a tweet.

    As per the latest trends of the Election Commission, TMC has won 209 seats and is leading in four. About 47.94 per cent of the total voted were in the TMC’s favour. It received about 38.1 per cent of the total. Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, has secured 76 seats and is leading in one.

    Bengal witnessed a fierce contest between the ruling TMC and BJP across eight phases. The Samyukta Morcha comprising the Congress, Left parties and ISF has also tried to put up a strong fight. The BJP has made a concerted attempt to dislodge the TMC.

  • West Bengal Assembly polls: BJP candidate Chandana Bauri, wife of daily wage labourer, wins Saltora

    By Online Desk
    BJP candidate Chandana Bauri scripted one of the historic wins in the West Bengal Assembly polls that will be long remembered by the people of the state.

    Chandana, the wife of a daily wage earner, won from West Bengal’s Saltora constituency. The 30-year-old Chandana Bauri defeated TMC candidate Sontosh Kumar Mondal by a margin of more than 4,000 votes.

    Following Chandana’s win, many took to Twitter and hailed her for this astounding success, despite coming from a humble background.

    According to the election affidavit filed by her, Chandana’s assets amount to just Rs 31,985, while her husband’s assets worth meager Rs 30,311. Chandana’s husband works as a mason for daily wages. Chandana, a mother of three children, along with her husband also owns three cows and three goats.

    During an interaction with ANI in March, earlier this year, she said, “Before the tickets were announced I had no idea that I would be selected as a candidate in the legislative assembly polls. Many people encouraged me to apply for a nomination online, but I did not think I would be able to achieve this feat.”

    Many hailed Chandana’s win as splendid and inspiring. Check out some of the reactions of people on Twitter.

    Congratulations on a splendid & inspiring victory Smt.Chandana Bauri ji.@BJP4Bengal https://t.co/d1LgtfSfNa
    — Sumiran Komarraju (@SumiranKV) May 2, 2021

    #Chandana Bauri Is Leading and will Declared Winner within Hours She Is Daily wager @doctorrichabjp Ji https://t.co/3auYYqYb3x
    — Shubham Thorat (@Shubham36551970) May 2, 2021

    Chandana Bouri from Saltora constituency has won by 4145 votes!Remember-her total worth is ₹31,985 with three goats, three cows and one hut. pic.twitter.com/1pTVxauY7D
    — Bengali Babu (@hatecommie) May 2, 2021

    Chandana Bouri from Saltora constituency has won by 4145 votes…. pic.twitter.com/LjbelrOBSw
    — Abhijit Basak (@Abhijit_Basak83) May 2, 2021

    Show her.. victory of this common woman.. chandana bauri Saltora seat.. a woman with no political background, Money powerThis is the reason to smile.. pic.twitter.com/1NR6bp519r
    — Sanjay Shrivastava #जय श्री राम (@casanjay_shri) May 2, 2021